


Death's Door

by ErrorCode_21891711



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Gen, Sick Tommyinnit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27409693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErrorCode_21891711/pseuds/ErrorCode_21891711
Summary: Tommy hadn't planned on his friends finding out about his sickness, it was rare and unpredictable coming back and going away at random times. But things never go to plan and Tommy's okay with that.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 487
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	Death's Door

When Tommy and Wilbur had been exiled from L’manburg Tommy had split off from Wilbur, he hadn’t wanted to be around Wilbur for a bit because in the back of his mind he had this nagging feeling telling him things were about to go wrong that things were going to come crashing down and he could feel the burning in his lungs, the heaviness in his legs and arms how it felt hard to just walk and how he felt extremely cold and hot at the same time for some odd reason.

He hadn’t had these symptoms since he was 5 or sometimes in between, they came and went but never stayed for too long so Tommy wasn’t too worried about them but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t stay. He had worked so hard to not let the others find out about this, about how truly broken he was. He’d protect this secret to the very end even if it cost him his life in the process. He knew it was his own fault, he knew that if he died like this it was his fault for getting close to his friends, he should have just stayed closed off and never ran away from home.

Tommy currently sat in his holiday house unsure of his next course of action or where he should go from here, his breathing was heavy and he didn’t have any feeling in his legs so he couldn’t really move, his hands felt stiff and he could barely move them and it hurt to breath or try to form words.

Tommy had rummaged through everything but his ender chest but he couldn’t reach it from here so that was a lost cause, he knew he had his medicine in there always making sure he could easily get it without trouble, this wasn’t the first time these types of things have happened but he’s always made sure to leave and be alone when they came around and to take his medicine alone when no one else is around.

He’s never wanted anyone to see him so weak and pathetic. Tommy sat there in his bed back leaning against the wall staring straight ahead. He kept breathing in heavily and then coughing every once in a while the feeling of taking in air hurt, his lungs felt like they were on fire which was an odd but not a new feeling to him.

Tommy wished he wasn’t like this, he wished he was normal because maybe if he was normal he wouldn’t have had to leave he wouldn’t have been such a disappointment. Tommy’s vision at this point had gotten hazy and was clouded, the edges becoming blurry.

He knew the feeling would come back to his legs sooner or later but how long that took he didn’t know, it varied when he was younger and this sickness was a lot worse. He hadn’t really thought it’d come back so soon since that last time something like this happened was around the Dream Smp war for L’mangburg’s independence, he had left for a week or two which was how long it took for him to feel fine again before he could come back.

He did have medication that delayed the effects but that didn’t last long, when he had returned to L’manburg and the others they had all been worried sick fussing over him asking him where he was or if he was captured or hurt. It made him happy to know that they cared but also sad. With this sickness Tommy knew he wouldn’t live long, his parents said it, the doctors said it, everyone in his village knew as well. So they stayed away from him. The pain of losing him someday wasn’t something they wanted and Tommy felt a little selfish for not telling them for lying to them for so long and letting them believe he’d stay by their side no matter the odds.

He hated that he had to go and get attached to people, having friends wasn’t something he had planned on gaining when he decided to run away from home and travel from world to world before he died and fell to this incurable sickness. Making friends was something that didn’t seem like a possibility especially when all he had done was push people who tried to get close away, but then came along Dream, George and Sapnap who refused to leave. Then Tubbo, Wilbur and soon after Niki, Fundy, Eret and all the others he went from being closed off and afraid to outgoing and having caring friends.

He didn’t understand and never thought he ever would, what exactly they saw in him that they thought he’d be interesting enough to have as a friend. He wasn’t special, he was nothing there were so many people who could be better than him, so many others that would probably be more deserving of their love and affection.

  
Tommy sighed as he blinked noticing that it was already night out at this point he had been sitting there for several hours. He sighed heavily and dug into his pants pocket pulling out his phone to see messages from Niki, Tubbo, Wilbur and even Dream. Tommy sighed as he looked over them most from Wilbur, Niki and Tubbo were asking where he was and if he was okay while Dream just wished him the best.

Tommy shook his head and pocketed his phone as he pulled himself to stand up on shaky legs the feeling still somewhat returning to his legs. Moving around was a little hard with how heavy he was breathing and how cold he felt, light blue vein like patterns were beginning to form at his fingertips down his palm and the back of his hand and spreading more up to his arm but barely stopping at his elbow.

He grabbed everything he thought he’d need, he’d have to find a place to stay that no one else would find him at that way he was sure they wouldn’t find out about this whole mess he got himself into. Sure he never asked to be made like this but deep down he knew he blamed himself. For being just so weak and useless to not being able to fight off some sickness.

He knew he wasn’t the only one though, there were others and he knew this. He had met them and they had wished each other the best in their goals despite their shared sickness. Tommy at this point was already sitting in the minecart going down the track back to his odd hobbit hole like base made out of smooth stone. Arriving he double checked his inventory making sure he had everything he’d need for the coming few days, he checked through all the chests in his base and sighed when he found nothing that would be useful. The blue vein pattern at this point was already going up his shoulders and he could tell his hands would probably feel freezing if someone touched them.

His hands felt a little numb but he ignored it and continued to search around. “Tommy” He looked up surprised to see Schlatt leaning with his arms crossed against the doorway, an unreadable expression written across his face. Tommy stared at Schlatt for a few silent seconds, maybe minutes he couldn’t tell with the ringing in his ears. He knew that his smooth stone hobbit hole wasn’t anywhere near L’manburg so he wasn’t trespassing but he knew Schlatt could probably care less about that. “You look like shit” Schatt sighed.

Tommy didn’t say anything and instead ignored him in favor of continuing to look around. He didn’t really need to worry about Schlatt all that much, sure he’s talked with Schlatt a few times and has been around him a bit but that didn’t mean they were friends and that Schlatt actually cared about him enough to notice how odd he was acting. At best they were acquaintances.

Tommy kneeled in front of a chest and opened it reaching a hand in to grab the items he might need. He stopped and turned his head at the sound of footsteps but was a little too slow. Schlatt had his wrist in a tight grip stopping him from grabbing whatever he needed. He silently watched as Schlatt’s eyes widened by a fraction pulling his arm closer to look at the vein like pattern on it. “Jesus fucking christ kid your hands are fucking freezing” Schlatt hissed his anger apparent in his voice.

Tommy rolled his eyes and huffed weakly trying to pull away from Schlatt’s grip but he didn’t have any strength in him and the feeling in his arms was slowly going away. He blinked rapidly, his vision blurring at the edges, he breathed in shakily and tried to pull away again but Schlatt just tightened his grip. “Tommy, tell me what the fuck you’ve been doing” Tommy shook his head and tried to form words but only proceeded to have a coughing fit bringing his other hand up to cover his mouth the taste of copper in his mouth and the red on his hand as he pulled it away. He knew the vein like pattern was probably spreading up his neck past the collar of his shirt making it more visible.

“Dammit kid” Schlatt sighed and pulled Tommy forward pulling his arm over his shoulder and wrapping his other arm around Tommy’s lower back to support Tommy since he could barely even walk on his own two feet. “Gotta get you to the damn community house and contact everyone” Schlatt said and panic filled him and he shook his head rapidly trying to struggle away from Schlatt but the feeling in his arms was gone and he was stumbling on his legs. Tommy blinked rapidly trying to stay conscious but it was getting harder and harder with every passing second as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. He breathed in shakily and just let his eyes close, putting his full weight onto Schlatt who could probably handle holding him since he was taller than him and probably stronger.

[-----]

Dream was beyond worried, Schlatt had contacted everyone in one message saying there was something wrong with Tommy and they had to get to the community house. When Dream had arrived Tommy looked awful with a blue vein like pattern across his skin, breathing heavily and paler than his normal skin tone. When Dream touched his forehead he was shocked at how cold he felt. George and Bad were the next to show up and helped him gather blankets to make a makeshift bed on the ground to lay Tommy onto. Dream had already begun going through his admin panels scanning over Tommy to try and figure out what was wrong, Tommy’s temperature was abnormally low and he was obviously having a hard time breathing.

Dream hadn’t ever seen anything like this and was unsure of what to do so he did one of the only things he could do as an admin and began a slow progression of healing. He could do this to everyone if he wanted to because he was an admin and Tommy and the others were his wards people who were under his watch he could heal them but it also took up his own energy. Bad and George could also heal but right now they could only do one at a time and hope for the best. Tommy’s breath seemed to even out just as other members of the SMP arrived, all of them looking distraught and shocked once they saw Tommy in such terrible condition.

Tubbo showed up with Quackity and Fundy and Wilbur showed up with Techno shortly after. They had tried to crowd closer to Tommy but Bad and George had quickly pushed them to stand back and give Dream space to work with as he continued to heal. After a while Dream stopped and turned to Schlatt. “What happened?” He asked.

  
“I don’t know,” Schlatt sighed. “I found him at his base and he was just going through all of the chests when I noticed the vein pattern on his skin, I got close enough to physically touch him but he was really cold and seemed a little out of it so I decided to bring him here, he started shaking his head no and tried to talk but started coughing up blood and passed out shortly after” Dream frownd beneath his mask and sighed heavily.

“We’ll I can only heal him for so long but since there are so many worlds out there that any type of disease or sickness can just up and appear, all I can do is continue to heal him with breaks in between” Dream responded. “Me George and Bad will have to switch between shifts though since there’s only so much I can do”

“Let's move him somewhere else,” Eret suggested. “Let's move him to my castle I have a lot of spare rooms if anyone else wants to stay just in case they want to make sure Tommy is okay”

Everyone voiced their agreements and those of who wanted to stay in Eret’s castle to make sure Tommy was okay voiced their agreements and requests to stay.

[-----]

Tommy didn’t know what to expect when he woke up, the room he was in was small but not too small to feel too closed off. His bed was in the middle of the wall across from the door with a window on the wall behind him above his bed. There were small bedside tables on either side of his bed, a small candle on the small table to his right alight with a small flame casting a soft glow through the room.

  
Tommy had to blink rapidly to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room but when they did he could see George sitting in a chair near the door face downcasted as he read over a book. Tommy sighed, catching George’s attention as he tried to sit up, George was by his side before he knew it, pushing him to lay back down. “Don’t get up you idiot” George said. “I’ll get the others” The thought of being left alone made him scared so he reached out and took George’s hand in his own.

“Please” He weakly muttered tears forming at the corner of his eyes as pain began to return to his lungs, a burning feeling gradually growing. “P-please don’t l-lea-” He didn’t get to finish as George pulled his hand away returning to his chair to drag it over to Tommy’s bedside before he sat down and took Tommy’s hand back into his own. Tommy smiled softly and sighed as he relaxed breathing in slowly trying to not breathe in too fast. It hurt and would probably cause a coughing fit again.

He noticed George pull out his phone and was probably contacting Dream or messaging in the group chat to tell the others he’s woken up. Tommy was about to try and say something but was quickly interrupted when a coughing fit came back and he abruptly sat up bringing a hand to cover his mouth a copper taste flooding his mouth the stench of blood as it poured from his mouth. Tommy heaved as George moved to sit beside him on the bed pulling him into a side hug that Tommy gladly returned without question.

Dream, Tubbo, Wilbur, Schlatt and Niki came into the room not too long after and Tubbo was quick to sit on his other side, tears of his own in the corner of his own eyes as he looked at the blood that he got onto the bed sheets and his shirt. George had already begun to heal him before they arrived which had helped calm the burning in his lungs but it was hard to hear at the moment so he could barely hear anything the others were saying. 

“Tommy-” The voice kept cutting out and Tommy sighed shakily, his grip around George tightening.

  
“C-can’t hear” He muttered shakily. “Can’t h-hear” He repeated and the voices stopped. He continued to lean against George, his breathing evening out but the blue veins were still there promeninte against his abnormally pale skin. He closed his eyes and fell asleep again, his eyelids heavy and all the energy he recovered from sleep gone in a matter of what felt like minutes but was probably longer.

[-----]

The next time he woke up it was just Bad and Eret present in his room. His breathing was slow and even but he couldn’t feel his legs and everything felt cold despite the blanket thrown over him. The blankets had been switched out with a clean on alongside his shirt being changed, he assumed they had switched it out because things couldn't magically become clean. Bad sat on a chair to the right of his bed and Eret sat to his left, even if Bad was a shadow demon and his features weren’t visible it was obvious he was tired from the way he leaned forward slightly and was struggling to stay awake.

  
Eret wasn’t any different, his hair was a complete mess and he was leaning back in his chair, his gaze to the ceiling, his crown lopsided on his head. “E-eret” Tommy stuttered. Eret snapped his gaze down, eyes probably widening behind his glasses. He leaned forward taking Tommy’s hand into his own and placing a hand over his forehead.

“You're still pretty cold, I’ll have to have Bad switch with George,” Eret muttered quietly. He stood up and exited the room.

  
“Glad you're awake” Tommy turned his head facing Bad who lifted his head, his eyes drooping slightly. Tommy frowned and reached out a hand Bad took it without question.

“Y-you need t-to res-rest” He said, flinching after from the burning in his lungs.

“Not when you're like this” Bad responded, squeezing his hand reassuringly. “Were going to do everything we can to help you Tommy”

Tommy felt so useless and stupid, he hated being so weak and pathetic he hated feeling like he did years ago, he hated being reminded of how weak he was when he was younger and never wanted to feel like that again. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes and he didn’t have the strength to try and keep them at bay letting them roll down his face. “I’m sor-sorry” He stuttered.

Bad quickly shushed him. “You don’t have anything to apologize for Tommy you muffin” Bad responded. “We’d do anything to help you, because your family”

That thought made him grip Bad's hand tighter feeling the small smile return. He breathed in heavily a strange heavy pressure on his chest making his breathing labored. The door opened after another minute or two and Eret, Schlatt, Wilbur, Dream and George stepped into the room. He didn’t have the heart to try and sit up slightly to look and see if there was anyone else, Dream and George were by his side next to Bad George already beginning the process of healing him the pressure on his chest lightening a bit.

Wilbur sat down where Eret was formerly sitting taking his hand into his own and running his thumb soothingly over the back of his hand. Tommy turned his head to face Wilbur who looked completely distraught and tired deep bags under his eyes and tears tracks obvious against his pale skin his hair disheveled and his beanie not even put on properly.

Schlatt didn’t look any better, his suit wrinkled and his hair thrown around compared to his normal straight pulled back hair bags of his own under his eyes as Eret pulled up two more chairs so they could sit down beside his bed with Eret between Wilbur and Schlatt.

“Thank god, y-your okay T-tommy” Wilbur said, his voice shaking. Tommy huffed and tried to smile but it quickly fell.

  
“Y-you haven’t bee-been sleeping” Tommy pointed out.

“How cou-could I when yo-your like this?” Wilbur retorted light heartedly.

“I’m no-not worth wor-worrying over” Tommy responded. The grip on his hand tightened but not enough to be painful.

“Don’t ever say that again” Tommy was a little surprised when this response came from Dream, Wilbur and Schlatt who all said this in unison. Tommy sighed and shook his head and continued to speak ignoring their response in favor of at the very least explaining what was happening. It was the least he could do for putting them through all of this.

“Everyone said I was useless, my parents, the people in my village, the doctors” Tommy sighed shakily. “I was born sick like others in a similar condition to mine. From the first day I was bedridden, it hurt to breathe. I sometimes couldn’t move my legs other times my arms. Some days I couldn’t hear others I couldn’t see I’d lose function in certain parts of my body at any point in time” His words were oddly clear and he wasn’t stuttering as much, his mind drifted back to the past.

“It hurt to try and speak, my lungs always felt like they were burning, the doctors couldn’t explain what was wrong with me, my c-condition or sickness was rare extremely so it’s only found in less than one percent of population in a-almost every wor-world” Tommy closed his eyes feeling even more tired than before his strength leaving but he didn’t fall asleep and instead continued to speak with his eyes closed. “All of these symptoms my sensory problems, the burning in my lungs my inability to move my limbs from time to time i-it all just slowly we-went away after m-my fifth birt-birthday”

“Tommy-” Wilbur tried to interrupt but Tommy continued.

“The doctors said I wouldn’t live past 17 they said I’b be lucky to make it to 19, they called this sickness D-death's door because eve-every single p-person whos ever h-had it has a-always fallen to i-it one way or another” He breathed in heavily, everything still felt so cold and he hated it, he could feel how warm Wilbur’s hand was against his own. “I-i’m tired” He muttered, closing his eyes slowly.

[-----]

  
  


The next time he wakes up is when he feels a dip in the bed beside him. He cracks his eyes open and knows it’s night and turns to look who it is and is surprised to find Phil seated on his bedside. Without thinking he shakily sits up and hugs Phil, feeling his arms wrap around his lower back. He doesn’t notice Techno, Tubbo or Wilbur until he turns and finds them sitting to his left.

“Wilbur explained a few things to us,” Phil says quietly. Tommy nods and watches as Techno stands up and leaves the room, he returns after a few minutes with a plate of food. Tommy frowns and shakes his head, eating is just going to hurt like all the other times. “You need to eat Tommy,” Phil told him his soft and concerned, like he's talking to a small animal.

Tommy huffs. “I-i’ll try” He muttered and takes the plate of food from Techno when he holds it out to him. He had to shift around on the bed a bit but once he was comfortable enough with the plate in his hand he began eating his food, it didn’t hurt that much but he still grimaced.

“Why didn’t you tell us about this earlier?” He looked up at Phil who had a worried look sprawled across his face, Phil had moved from his spot on the bed to a chair to his right. Tommy frowned and stopped eating as he thought over his response.

“Didn’t s-see a point,” He muttered but continued. “D-doctors said I-i wouldn’t live past 17 l-lucky if I make i-it past 19, I f-figured you’d f-forget about m-me before then a-and I wouldn’t h-have to worry a-about you a-all being s-sad about m-my passing” He went quiet after this the entire room was silent and he could tell how tense they were.

“How can you say this?” Techno muttered. “Thinking we’d just forget, Dream, George and Bad are already trying to figure out possible way to delay whatever this is”

“I-i have medication f-for that” He muttered. “It’s i-in my ender c-chest”

Phil nodded and stood probably to go get an ender chest and maybe even Dream and the others. Throughout this whole interaction Tubbo had stayed silent and just sat with his hands in his lap staring at the blanket thrown over Tommy’s legs. “What was it like for you” Tommy looked at Tubbo when he asked this, raising an eyebrow at his friend. “Growing up like this” Tubbo said.

Tommy thought over Tubbo’s question. “It was hard” He whispered loud enough for them to hear. “I couldn’t do a lot of things, I couldn’t even speak until I was 6 I had to start from scratch on a lot of things including the basics of learning. I had to attend therapy at a very young age a lot of doctor’s appointments I wasn’t allowed outside still and I didn’t have any friends, no one wanted to be friends with someone who could drop dead at any moment even if 17 was the age the doctors said was mostly likely my death point” Tommy explained.

Everything went silent again and Tommy assumed the others were thinking. He hadn’t had time to think while going in and out of sleep, it was hard to think with the burning in his lungs. The only thing he could focus on was trying to ignore the pain in his chest. He noticed the edges of his vision was blurry but didn’t say anything about it.

“They said I was broken” He whispered remembering the yelling and the arguments that went down between his mother and father. “There were times when my parents would argue, my mom said I was broken” As he said this Phil, Dream, Sapnap, George and Bad entered his room closing the door behind them as he finished his sentence. Tears had already begun to form at the corner of his eyes. “My dad would tell me nothing was wrong with me, that I wasn’t broken, he said he’d never leave me alone” Tommy was beginning to hate the silence, it felt suffocating, he felt like they were silently judging him. “Do you think I’m broken Tubbo”

“Of c-course not Tommy” Tubbo stuttered, moving to sit beside him and pull him into a side hug. Tommy returned the hug, his hands shaking and the tears cascading down his cheeks.

[-----]

He continues to go in and out of sleep for the next week. The burning or crushing pressure on his chest was still there and he hated it, he’d have coughing fits and sometimes cough up blood, sometimes he couldn’t feel his legs other times his arms. He did his best to explain some things to Dream, Bad and George when he could actually speak without his throat feeling like it was tearing itself apart. He had given the medication that delayed the effects of his sickness to Dream since keeping them in his ender chest was pointless now that they knew.   
  


Tommy still felt like complete shit that they found out like this, He was a little surprised when other members of the SMP would come and go wishing him the best recovery. The medication helped but there were still things it didn’t or couldn’t delay or stop, the burning in his lungs went away alongside the odd pressure on his chest.

He didn’t know if things would get better or worse but he knew even if he didn’t like how things turned out he knew he had his friends there to help him. They obviously weren’t going to stop trying to help him, they weren’t going to just ignore everything happening to him and he in a way was thankful.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll go more into Admin mechanics in another fic since I have some concepts for it but don't feel like talking about it.
> 
> Sorry for not updating in so long I've been busy :P
> 
> I might also go more into detail about this Death's Door disease another time since I've been wanting to post but with how little time I have it's been a little hard.
> 
> Next fic I make is probably going to be focused around Team TNT which is what I'm calling Tommy, Niki and Tubbo because I have a bunch of fanart saved with just them and labelling the fanart Tommy, Niki and Tubbo #1 would be just to long so I'm just labelling them TNT.
> 
> T=Tommy  
> N=Niki  
> T=Tubbo
> 
> I have an idea that will focus around these three and I need more Niki content in my life ;-;


End file.
